Speaking to TOI, Usha Waghire, chairperson of the PCMC's standing committee, said that a resolution to construct a building to house industries located in residential areas was passed by the standing committee on Thursday.

Pimpri-Chinchwad is known as an industrial township and over 1,000 small industrial units are locatedin its residential areas. These are mostly welding and fabrication units.

However, the constant noise emanating from the units is causing hardships to residents. They have complained to the PCMC about it and sought its intervention.

The civic body has been working on a proposal to relocate these industries for the last three years, but with little success.

According to the resolution passed on Thursday, a building will be built in the T-block of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Bhosari to house these units.

An official from PCMC's engineering department said that the civic body would construct the building on plot no 201 in MIDC, Bhosari at a cost of Rs 36.60 crore. The contract for this has been awarded to a Mumbai-based company, New Construction. The construction work will begin in one and a half months and will be completed in two years.

He added that the building will have 306 shops of four different types and measuring between 250 sq.ft and 610 sq.ft.

The PCMC had called for applications from industries in residential areas to be shifted to this building and 132 applications were received. The units will be allotted space at the rate of Rs 1,000 per sq.ft. The rest of the shops will be auctioned.

Pravin Mistry, chairman, Chamber of Small Industries Association, Western Maharashtra and former president, Pimpri-Chinchwad Small Scale Industries Association said that the MIDC has provided land for shifting the industries from residential areas.

Mistry further said that around 500 industries were found to be in residential areas in a survey conducted in 1994. They were directed to file applications to get space in the building in MIDC, Bhosari, he added.